In one sentence, he summed up why the City has yet to buy into his recovery plans for the business. Put simply, most of them are blindingly obvious. You don’t need to be a retail expert to know that getting service right in PC World and Currys is key to DSGi putting up a fight in an electricals market that is hard and getting harder.
The big test is if Browett can do it. He’s certainly putting real resources into cracking this crucial conundrum, but his challenge is that the image of poor service has been engrained in the mindset of shoppers for a long time and he has a real job on his hands turning perceptions around.
He won’t be helped by the fact that DSGi’s international operations appear to be going from bad to worse. We all knew Italy was a basket case, but what we didn’t know was that Scandinavia, hitherto the diamond in the rough, had also hit more challenging times.
Browett is a good appointment for DSGi and has impressed everyone with his intellect and his drive to turn things around quickly. His experience at Tesco in particular and prior to that as a management consultant, should make him perfectly equipped to get his head around the huge strategic issues facing the business.
What will be crucial, though, is having the right operational management on the ground to make sure his fine words and aspirations are turned into action. He has a huge amount on his plate, at home and away, and can’t do it on his own – he needs to surround himself with great retailers and marketers if he’s to turn the business around.
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